3 of 10 Autos Sold in Korea are SUVs

As culture for leisure is spreading and people prefer big cars, sport utility vehicles (SUV) are becoming more popular. In fact, three out of ten automobiles sold in September were SUVs.

According to the automobile industry on Oct. 5, the top five automobile manufacturing companies in Korea sold a total of 94,834 cars last month (excepting commercial vehicles) 10.4 percent more than September last year (85,896 cars).

SUVs were the most sold vehicle in the market. A total of 27,688 SUVs were sold, which accounted for 29.2 percent of total car sales, a 6.1 percent point increase from August last year (23.1 percent).

The sales portion of SUVs has constantly increased for three consecutive months, from 24.8 percent in July to 25.7 percent in August, which means that three out of ten automobiles currently being sold are SUVs.

The popularity of SUVs has been led by the New Sorento of Kia Motors and the QM3 of Renault Samsung Motors.

On the other hand, by automobile type, mid-size vehicles (16,671 cars) were 17.6 percent of the market, and quasi-mid-size vehicles (16,379 cars) were 17.3 percent of total sales, following SUVs. During the same period last year, quasi-mid-size vehicles were 20.3 percent, and mid-size vehicles were 17.9 percent. However, as more people prefer big cars, sales for two vehicle types changed within a year.

Polarized consumption, in which big cars sell well whereas small cars do not, is shown in actual numbers. Last month, sales of mid-size vehicles, quasi-full sized vehicles, full sized vehicles, minivans, and SUVs increased 8.6 percent, 11.2 percent, 33.5 percent, 57.8 percent, and 35.1 percent, respectively. However, sales of compact cars, small sized vehicles and quasi-mid-size vehicles decreased 13.0 percent, 15.0 percent, and 6.1 percent, respectively.